Filling machines of this nature for filling sausage casings with paste material are already known. During the processing of certain types of filling material, e.g. raw sausage, it should be ensured that the temperature of the filling material does not undercut or exceed a certain temperature in the complete processing chain. If the filling material undercuts or exceeds a certain temperature, it cannot then be processed further. For this reason currently the temperature of the mass flow is acquired, wherein on reaching a certain limit the operator must intervene actively and manually in the process. With heated hoppers the intervention can take place as long as filling material is located in them. Production may even need to be interrupted and the filling material removed from the machine, because it can no longer be processed. The ejection of the filling material from the machine or the cleaning of the machine requires however a high outlay and is correspondingly cost-intensive. The known filling machines therefore demand predictive actions. Consequently, increased concentration is required of the operator.